Robert Paterson interview on the end of the rat race

Last week I wrote a review of Robert Paterson’s ebook You Don’t Need a Job: The Rise of the Network. Yesterday, Paterson was gracious enough to allow me to ask him some questions about his book — in the middle of having his house completely re-wired no less (sorry in advance for a bit of drilling and hammering noise in the background at a few points).

What follows is a really great interview that I think sums up nicely many of the points Robertson makes about how the concept of “work” is going through a major transformation and what the implications will be for us as individuals and societies.

The bottom line: The transition from an industrial age concept of work that was characterized by what Patterson calls “institutions of the mundane” (aka the “rat race”), to a networked concept of work that will potentially be much more rewarding, liberating and fulfilling is already well underway.

This doesn’t mean that you won’t need an income in the future of course, but rather that our emerging networked world will open up unbelievable opportunities to earn income in a multitude of ways other than just as a “wage earner” or “employee”.

As we write about here often, this is a trend that is accelerating rapidly already, so it’s worth paying attention to.